Words with Wings and Magic Things

K-Gr 5–An engaging collection of original poems perfectly complemented by lively illustrations. The 49 poems cover a wide variety of everyday moments, moods, and experiences that will appeal to children of all ages. The poems are arranged into seven portals: Welcome, Wonders, Wild, Wheee!, Whoops & Whallops, Windows, and Whispers & Well Wishes. Burgess celebrates wordplay in a way that transforms the ordinary into the exceptional. Salati’s engaging illustrations successfully help bring the poems to life. Together, they make a perfect combination to be read and enjoyed on one’s own or shared as a delightful read aloud. For example, in the first portal, Welcome, Burgess reflects on beginnings and points of view: “Some will say the sky is blue,/ but that is only partly true./ If you take a peek above,/ the clouds are dusty as a dove.” Salati has cleverly illustrated this poem with children looking into a weather arch featuring a rainbow of variously colored sky rings. In Wonders, Burgess suggests, “To reach the place of things unseen,/ words can be your trampoline.” Again, Salati is spot-on with an illustration of a child holding a flashlight snooping around a dark attic full of hidden treasures. Back matter includes an index of poem titles. This is an extraordinary collection filled with poems to savor and illustrations that will both captivate and delight young readers.